


From the outside

by Melody_Jade



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-08-31 20:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8593336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melody_Jade/pseuds/Melody_Jade
Summary: Jubilee’s feeling lost after the events of Apocalypse.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChaoticDemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticDemon/gifts).



 

It was lunch hour, and the dining hall for the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was loud and noisy as usual. Jubilee took her lunch tray from the counter and turned around, surveying the room. It was both old and new, much like the rest of the school after En Sabah Nur’s attack and the subsequent rebuilding. Most of the original design of the building was left intact, but the cracks and scratches from years past were smoothed away, and it was both familiar and yet strange to be back here again.

Several groups of students waved at Jubilee, inviting her to join them. She hesitated though, scanning the crowd. Jean, Scott, and Kurt were all not there.

They were having yet another training session with Mystique and the rest of the newly-minted X-Men.

Smiling apologetically at the other students, Jubilee headed for the nearest empty table. Setting her tray down, she pulled out some schoolwork and pretended like she was very engrossed with it.

It wasn’t as though she didn’t have other friends. Jubilee was popular here in the school. People naturally gravitated to her due to her warm personality, and she was pretty much the de-facto class president. She knew everyone in the school, and was pretty much friends with all of them. It wasn’t as though Jean, Scott, and Kurt were her only friends.

So why was she feeling abandoned?

She picked at her food, trying and failing to focus on the book she’s reading.

There was a commotion at the entrance, and even without looking up she knew it must be the X-Men, just let off from their training session. Jubilee pointedly kept her head down, ignoring the gasps and laughter as Peter used his super speed to dash through the dining hall to the serving station.

They joined her table anyway after getting their food, smiling at and greeting her as they all arranged themselves around her. “Hello Jubilee,” Kurt said shyly, “how have you been?”

“The usual,” Jubilee said, feeling some of her tension ease away because they had voluntarily seek her out. “The professor asked me to put together another television advertisement for the school, so I’ve been busy with that and some other outreach activities. How have the rest of you been? Is training tough?”

“Oh don’t get me started on it,” Peter complained, all the while still devouring his lunch, which was two whole plates heaped with food. “Mystique is worse than a drill sergeant. I’m more exhausted than I’ve ever been in my whole life, and I have super speed!”

There was general commiseration around the table, and people started swapping stories of the tortuous training Mystique had put them through, and Jubilee started feeling a little left out. These people had gone through a lot together to fight En Sabah Nur, and even now, were still building common experiences together, becoming a team, with Jubilee looking on the outside. A shot of jealousy went through her, shocking her.

This wasn’t her. Jubilee was never the type to let pettiness affect her interactions with others.

Ororo, who was sitting next to her, was the lone dissenter within the group still speaking out for Mystique, and Jubilee nudged her lightly, “Ignore those idiots. How are your classes going so far?”

“Pretty well so far,” Ororo replied, looking relieved at the change in subject. “I’m almost caught up with most of the material, except for American History. I just can’t seem to remember all the dates!”

“I can help you,” Jubilee offered. “I’ve taken the class before and I know the material well.”

“Oh will you?” Ororo smiled at her gratefully. “Thank you!”

Jubilee smiled back at her, willing herself to believe that everything will be alright.

The lunch only went downhill from there though. Ororo got drawn into a conversation on combat tactics and before long, the entire table was caught up in a discussion on the merits and drawbacks of defensive versus offensive tactics.

Jubilee’s only experience of war was what she read in the papers and watched on television. Unlike the others, she hadn’t been through a battle. She had remained, comparatively safe, back in Westchester, as the rest of them had fought the Apocalypse with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

The gulf between them widened just a little bit more.

She parted from them after lunch, even though they invited her to go hang out with them outside, claiming that she still had a lot of work to do. She kept her voice steady, hoping that no sign of her current feelings leaked through, making sure her mental shields were rigid enough that Jean couldn’t tell what she’s thinking.

They walked away as a group with boisterous laughter and good-natured teasing as Jubilee looked on, again on the outside.

* * *

They kept seeking her out though.

Jubilee kept her word and started helping Ororo with her American History class, and Kurt joined in as well. The group continued sitting with her during lunch or class, or calling out greetings to her if she’s with other students. She still felt a wall between them though, impossible to climb, and so she tried to keep her interactions with them to a bare minimum.

It might have continued on in that way, but one day, Jean came to find her in the library.

“You’ve been avoiding us,” she announced without any preamble.

“I’ve been busy,” Jubilee denied. “I have been helping the Professor plan orientation activities for the new students, that’s why I haven’t been around as much. Besides, I just had dinner with you and the rest just yesterday!”

“And you left immediately afterward instead of hanging out with us.” Jean studied her, her gaze penetrating in a way that reminded Jubilee of the Professor. “Something is bothering you,” she stated. “What is it?”

Jubilee avoided eye contact with Jean. “I just don’t want to intrude,” she finally said when the silence grew too long.

“Intrude?”

“You and the rest are a real team now. I’ll just be in the way.”

“But Jubilee, you’re our friend too,” Jean protested.

“I’m everyone’s friend.” And she didn’t mean it in a boastful way. She’s friends with everyone, but she’s close friends with none. She reinforced her mental shields, not wanting Jean to hear what she’s thinking, but from the understanding look in Jean’s eyes, she’d probably heard them anyway.

“I felt so alone when I first joined this school.” Jean said, seemingly randomly. “Everyone was scared of me and my powers. No one dared talk to me, they just whispered behind my back, and I could hear what they were thinking about me. You were the only one who would come up to me and talk, sit with me during classes and meals. Do you remember?”

Jubilee shrugged. “You looked lonely, I just wanted to help you feel better. It’s no big deal.”

Jean shook her head emphatically. “It is a big deal to me. You showed Scott and Kurt around when they first joined as well.  And you’re helping Ororo with her schoolwork right now. You’re the first friend we made in this school, Jubilee. The first person that showed us kindness and friendship. That counts for something, and we still want you around.”

“Oh,” Jubilee said, not knowing what else to say.

“Now, Scott is planning yet another trip to the mall. He hotwired another car of the Professor and he and Kurt are waiting for us at the front gate. Come with us, please? It’s not as fun without you. Someone needs to take Scott down a peg or two whenever he starts inflicting us with his opinions on movies.”

“Which are usually wrong,” Jubilee interjected, smiling.

“Exactly,” Jean agreed, smiling back. “Come on.”

In the end, they all had a great day out in the mall. Jubilee got into yet another heated argument with Scott over the movie they watched, split off from the guys to get some shopping done with Jean, before meeting back with the guys for dinner, which for Kurt consisted of a large variety of desserts. Later, on the way back to the school, they stopped next to an empty field, and Jubilee did an impromptu display of her powers, much to her friends’ delight.

Despite the chill of the evening air, the night was full of laughter, warmth, and fun.

Jubilee would never doubt the friendship she had with this group of people ever again.


End file.
